Yannick Cyril Weber (born 23 September 1988) is a Swiss professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who is currently playing with the

ZSC Lions The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions (ZSC Lions) are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and play ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL). He was drafted by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Early career

As a youth, Weber played in the 2002

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a team from Central Switzerland. Weber began his professional hockey career in his native Switzerland playing for

SC Langenthal Schlittschuh Club Langenthal known as SC Langenthal is a Swiss professional ice hockey team. They have played since the 2001–02 season in the Swiss League, the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the Na ...

of the

National League B The Swiss League is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League. The winners of the league each season plays a best-of-seven series against the bottom team of the NL, and if they win, the ...

, the second-highest tier of Swiss hockey. However, he moved to Canada in 2006 to develop his game with the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

. In two seasons with the Rangers, Weber scored 96 points and added 26 more in the playoffs. In 2007–08, his last season with the Rangers, he helped the team to their fourth

J. Ross Robertson Cup The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, and ...

championship and to the final of the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

championship. The Canadiens signed Weber to a three-year entry-level contract in the summer of 2008. He spent the majority of the next two seasons with the

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purcha ...

, the Canadiens'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) affiliate, with his strong play earning him limited action with Montreal and a spot in the 2009 AHL All-Star Game.

Montreal Canadiens

Weber scored his first career NHL goal during the 2009 playoffs, 20 April against Tim Thomas of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. Weber scored his first NHL regular season goal on 9 February 2011, also against Tim Thomas. Weber contributed two goals during the Canadiens' first round 2011 playoff series against the Boston Bruins, both times beating Tim Thomas. On 9 October 2011, Weber scored a power play goal against the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

contributing to a 5–1 Canadiens win in Winnipeg's first regular season game since 1996. Yannick Weber 02-2015

Vancouver Canucks

On 5 July 2013, he signed a one-year deal with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

after not being qualified as a restricted free agent by the Canadiens. In the

2014–15 NHL season The 2014–15 NHL season was the 98th season of operation (97th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Los Angeles Kings became the first team to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous season since the C ...

, Weber set a career-high record in goals with 11. He scored five of those 11 in the final 11 games of the season; 4 of which were on the powerplay. On 1 July 2015, he re-signed with the Canucks to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. After struggling in the

2015–16 NHL season The 2015–16 NHL season was the 99th season of operation (98th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). Thirty teams competed in 82-game regular season schedules from October 7, 2015 to April 10, 2016. The 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs ...

, The Canucks waived and subsequently assigned him to the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wi ...

in February 2016. However, due to a season-ending injury to Alexander Edler, he was recalled just a few days later before playing any games for the Comets. He would finish the season with the Canucks but did not appear in many games after this point.

Nashville Predators

On 1 July 2016, Weber left the Canucks after three seasons, signing a one-year contract as a free agent with the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. On 6 June 2017, it was announced that Weber had turned down offers from Geneva and Lugano -that would have paid him more than CHF1.7 million a year over multiple seasons- to pursue his NHL career. On 13 June 2017, the Predators signed Weber to a one-year contract extension worth $650,000. After appearing in 26 games for the club, the Predators re-signed Weber to a two-year, $1.35 million contract worth $675,000 annually. On 2 January 2021, Weber signed a professional tryout agreement to attend the Predators' training camp. However, he was released from the agreement on January 13.

Pittsburgh Penguins

On 27 January 2021, Weber signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000 with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

ZSC Lions

On 8 June 2021, Weber signed a three-year contract with the

of the

(NL).

International play

Weber is already a mainstay on the Swiss national team. He made his international debut at the

2005 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in České Budějovice and Plzeň, Czech Republic. The championships began on April 14, 2005 and finished on April 24, 2005. Games were played at Budvar Arena in České Budějovice and ČEZ Aréna ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. He went on to represent his country three times at the

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

, captaining the team at the 2008 tournament where he scored 6 points in as many games. Weber made his senior international debut at the

2009 IIHF World Championship The 2009 IIHF World Championship took place in Switzerland from 24 April to 10 May. The games were played in the PostFinance Arena in Bern and Schluefweg in Kloten. The PostFinance Arena in Bern was renovated and accommodates an attendance o ...

in his home country. Weber was also named to the Swiss roster for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

. He did not register a point in five games at the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Yannick 1988 births Genève-Servette HC players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Kitchener Rangers players Living people Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Nashville Predators players Olympic ice hockey players of Switzerland Pittsburgh Penguins players SC Langenthal players Swiss ice hockey defencemen Utica Comets players Vancouver Canucks players Swiss expatriates in Canada People from Morges Sportspeople from the canton of Vaud